n the far reaches of the world, under a to even the wisest of sages. If the characters gain access lost and lonely hill, lies the sinister Tomb of Hor- to the innermost part of the tomb where the lich’s crypt rors. This labyrinthine crypt is filled with terri- lies, their actions along the way will have caused his ble traps, strange and ferocious monsters, rich soul to be called back to the Material Plane and alerted and magical treasures, and somewhere within Acererak, now a demilich, that interlopers have invaded rests the demilich. his resting place. The legend of the tomb is an old story with many parts, some of which may be lost or ob- Running the Adventure scured. Characters attempting to glean special informa- As clever players will gather from the information in the tion by consulting sages or through legend lore spells “Legend of the Tomb,” this dungeon has more tricks and may still have difficulty obtaining as much background traps than it has monsters to fight. This is a thinking as they desire, for the scraps of information thus gained person’s adventure, and if your group is a hack-and-slay are often minimal and mystical. gathering, they will be unhappy! Only high-level charac- The essentials of the legend can be furnished to the ters stand a chance of surviving, but every player who players from the following section. braves the tomb will have the experience of a lifetime. Negotiation of the tomb will require quite a long time, Legend of the Tomb so be prepared to spend several sessions with this Somewhere under a lost and lonely hill of grim and fore- material. When the game ends for the day, assume the boding aspect lies a labyrinthine crypt. It is filled with expedition is spending the intervening time resting and terrible traps and not a few strange and ferocious mon- recovering until play again commences. Since there sters to slay the unwary. It is filled with rich treasures are no monsters to be randomly encountered within the both precious and magical, but in addition to the afore- tomb, the party might be able to encamp close to the mentioned guardians, there is said to be a demilich who entrance without fear of being disturbed, but if you do so still wards his final haunt. Be warned that tales have it opt, do not inform the players of this. that this being, called Acererak, possesses powers that As characters enter the various areas, read aloud ap- make him nearly undefeatable! propriate sections of text, but never give any additional All accounts conclude that it is quite unlikely any ex- plorers will ever find the chamber where the demilich Placing the Adventure lingers, for the passages and rooms of the tomb are In the original Tomb of Horrors, Gary Gygax suggested six fraught with traps, poison gases, and magical protec- possible, far-flung locations for the adventure in the Grey- tions. Furthermore, the demilich has so well hidden his hawk setting—proof in itself that the tomb is liable to turn lair that even those who avoid the pitfalls will not be up just about anywhere. Those possibilities are as follows: likely to locate their true goal. Only large and well-pre- • Inside the highest hill on the Plains of Iuz pared parties of the bravest and strongest should even • On an island (unmapped) in the Nyr Dyv consider the attempt, and if such a group does locate • In the Bright Desert the tomb, they must be prepared to fail. Any expedition • At the western border of the Duchy of Geoff must have magical protections and weapons, and must • Somewhere in the Vast Swamp south of Sunndi • On an island beyond the realm of the Sea Barons be equipped with every sort of device possible to en- sure survival. Other settings offer choices that are just as varied. Dragonlance. The tomb on Krynn might be in the foot- The Truth behind the Legend hills near the Eastwall Mountains, in the Cursed Lands of Newsea, or in the Shadowglades of Krynn, where a rene- Ages ago, a human wizard/cleric of surpassing evil took gade wizard who served Takhisis was said to dwell. the steps necessary to preserve his life force beyond Eberron. Appropriate sites for the tomb in Eberron in- the centuries he had already lived, and this creature clude the Ashen Spires of Karrnath, or among the tors in became the lich known as Acererak. Over the scores of the Vile Marsh between Droaam and the Shadow Marches. years which followed, the lich dwelled with hordes of among Shargon’s Teeth. Eberron’s Boneyard could hide ghastly servants in the gloomy stone halls of the very hill the tomb and thus speak to Acererak’s enmity for Eber- where the tomb is. ron’s dragons. Forgotten Realms. The tomb could be in the Serpent Eventually even the undead life force of Acererak be- Hills or the Trielta Hills on Faerûn. It could be in the gan to wane, so for the next eight decades, the lich’s ser- High Moor or amid the isles that make up the Korinn vants labored to create the Tomb of Horrors. Then Acer- Archipelago in the Moonshaes. It might be somewhere erak destroyed all his slaves and servitors, magically hid in the Anauroch desert, perhaps tying Acererak to an- the entrance to his halls, and went to reside in his final cient Netheril. haunt, while his soul roamed strange planes unknown
EXCERPT FOR DRAGON+ information that player characters would have no way ficiently high off the ground in order to collapse enough of knowing, and avoid facial expressions or voice tones material to expose a portion of a tunnel entrance. Once that might either give helpful hints or mislead players. an entrance is exposed, it takes about 1 hour for charac- The real enjoyment of this adventure is in managing to ters to thoroughly clear the passage that lies beyond, but cope, and those players who do so with even moderate a crawl space can be opened in 10 minutes. success will appreciate your refereeing properly and al- Probing of the gravel and sand face can begin wher- lowing them to “live or die” on their own. ever the characters choose—east side, west side, mid- The starting information given here simply assumes dle, several locations at once or merely a single one that the expedition has arrived at the site of the Tomb of at a time. Leave this strictly to the players to decide. Horrors. After relating the salient features of the “Leg- The best manner to handle it is to ask where they will end of the Tomb,” you may fill in whatever other back- search, once they have determined that they will in- ground is needed to get the characters to the site. vestigate the area and they have stated how it will be done and with what. Remember that probing low to the Adventure Start ground, or probing with short implements (daggers, The characters have arrived at the site of the demilich’s swords, and the like) will not reveal anything. last haunt. Before them is a low, flat topped hill, about As soon as any entrance is cleared and entered, go to 200 yards wide, 300 yards long, and 60 feet high. Only the appropriate location on map 7.1: either area 1, area ugly weeds, thorns, and briars grow upon the steep 2, or area 3. sides and bald top of the mound. There are black rocks upon the top of the hill, and if these are viewed from a Locations in the Tomb height of about 200 feet or so above the mound, it will be The following locations are identified on map 7.1. seen that the whole is shaped like a human skull, with piles of rock appearing as eyeholes, a nose hole, and the 1. False Entrance Tunnel jagged teeth of a grinning death’s head. If the characters clear the passage on the west side of A thorough inspection and search of the entire area the cliff face, read: reveals only that the north side of the hill has a crum- bling cliff of sand and gravel about 20 feet high in the The corridor before you is made of plain stone, roughly middle of the whole. (This cliff face is represented by the northern edge of map 7.1.) A low stone ledge overhangs worked, and it is dark and full of cobwebs. The ceiling this eroded area, and shrubs and bushes obscure it from overhead is obscured by hanging strands of webbing. observation at a distance. It takes 10 minutes for characters to search each 10-foot-wide space along the cliff face. This examination Casual observation will not reveal that the ceiling, must be done from a distance, using a long spear or a 20 feet overhead, is composed of badly fitting stones. 10-foot pole to poke into the sand and gravel, looking for The cobwebs must be burned away for someone to be an opening. Any prodding into the cliff face must be suf- able to inspect the tunnel ceiling. Anyone who does so and succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) Demonic Attention check realizes that the ceiling is unstable and in danger Characters who become astral or ethereal in the tomb of collapse. might attract a demon. Roll a d20 whenever this occurs. Daylight is sufficient to reveal a pair of oaken doors On a roll of 1 to 16, no demon appears. Otherwise the fol- at the end of the passageway. The doors open outward lowing demons could appear: 17, a vrock; 18, a hezrou; 19, by means of great iron ring pulls. When either door is a glabrezu; or 20, a nalfeshnee. opened, it is revealed to be a false door, and the trap is triggered.
About the Original Tomb of Horrors was born in Gary In the words of its creator, “This Gygax’s home campaign and in- is a thinking person’s adventure.” troduced to the world at the first It was designed not for player char- Origins game convention in 1975. acters of a certain level—though Since its original publication in high-level adventurers are certainly 1978, Tomb of Horrors has risen necessary—but for players who to legendary status among D&D enjoy a mental challenge and DMs players and is generally regarded who want to put their own spin on as one of the greatest adventures this truly unique dungeon. of all time.
EXCERPT FOR DRAGON+